Contaminated Foods Cases—Family Finds Deadly Spiders in Bananas

A London family made international news in November when they found a spider’s egg sac on bananas they’d purchased from the grocery store. The worst part, the eggs had hatched, sending hundreds of baby spiders scurrying around their house. A pest control company speculated that the spiders were Brazilian wandering spiders, the most venomous in the world. At first, the grocery store only offered the family a gift card, but it has been reported that a cash settlement was eventually paid in the case.

What are your legal rights when food you’ve purchased from the grocery store is contaminated?

If you’ve been sickened by your food, you’ll need to prove that (1) there was a contaminant in the food, (2) the contaminated food made you sick, and (3) you were physically, financially, or mentally harmed by the contaminated food.

Simply finding insects in your food probably won’t be enough to win a food contamination case. It will be very challenging to show that the insects caused your illness. Discovering spiders in your bananas or flies in your cereal may cause some people a great deal of distress, but unless there has been a physical injury, the mental distress probably won’t be enough to sustain a case. If, however, you develop food poisoning as a result of eating contaminated food, you may have a right to compensation from the grocery store or restaurant where you purchased the food.

Food contamination and poisoning cases require the skills of an experienced St. Louis products liability attorney. Evidence in food contamination cases must be secured quickly, or your case may be jeopardized. Secure counsel as soon as possible after the incident to give yourself the best chance of receiving the compensation you deserve for your injuries.